Eight European Pilgrimage Routes And Ancient Trails

It is said that pilgrimage is the original form of mindful travel. And in our turbulent times, a walking (biking or running) journey through ancient, historical or religious routes — particularly those renowned as European pilgrimages — is a growing trend not only as tests of endurance but as paths to find calm for the spirit, a comforting form of ‘tourism for the soul’ through gorgeous destinations.

Europe is full of venerable trails steeped in history where travelers can experience a meaningful inner adventure — spending time outdoors, transversing natural beauty, and learning about amazing places.

“In a noisy, angry world, the simple act of walking each day toward a defined goal is an appealing, powerful prospect,” writes The Telegraph. “A pilgrimage (secular or religious) forces you to ask what’s important.”

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Lonely Planet describes the experience as “a sacred path to spiritual renewal, a journey from head to heart, a test of endurance or a life-changing road to enlightenment.”

Whatever the motivation and “despite our secularising world, pilgrimage is enjoying a boom not seen since the Middle Ages,” The Guardian reports.

European Pilgrimage Routes Out of Competition

Any list of a selection of the best European tours for the soul invariably starts with the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage destination so popular worldwide that we can declare it “out of competition.”

In the past few decades, the numbers of people walking to Santiago de Compostela have increased from 74,324 in 2003 to 440,370 in 2023 and to a record 499,239 pilgrims receiving the ‘Compostela’ certificate in 2024, an 11.9% increase from the previous year, according to Santiago’s Pilgrim’s Office..

Camino de Santiago — also known as the Way of Saint James, deeply rooted in Christianity and functioning since the 9th century — consist of an extensive network of ancient routes created by people walking from their homes across Europe and coming together at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, where the remains of the apostle Saint James lie.

While many are motivated by religious believes, other secular walkers do it as a ‘mindful’ journey, a physical achievement or as a practical way to explore European culture, historical sites and history itself.

With a well-established infrastructure and extensive marketing efforts of related businesses, pilgrims find hostels, hotels, restaurants and stores along their way and the length of their journey can vary from many weeks to complete long traditional routes or shorter, partial itineraries according to taste.

The vast and varied network of the Camino de Santiago has been compared to a river system where small brooks join together to make streams, and those streams come together to make rivers that ‘flow’ to the cathedral. During the Middle Ages, people walked out of their front doors and started off to Santiago, which was how the network grew.

The most popular journey (and very crowded in summer) is the Camino Francés, stretching 780 kilometers (some 500 miles) from St. Jean-Pied-du-Port near Biarritz in France to Santiago. This route is fed by three other major French paths: the Voie de Tours, the Voie de Vezelay, and the Voie du Puy.

It’s also joined along the way by the Camino Aragones, (fed by the Voie d’Arles that crosses the Pyrenees at the Somport Pass), the Camí de Sant Jaume from Montserrat near Barcelona, the Ruta de Tunel from Irun, the Camino Primitivo from Bilbao and Oviedo (more below) and by the Camino de Levante from Valencia and Toledo.

As explained by UNESCO, which has declared the Camino an Outstanding World Heritage and offers a complete itinerary: ‘To reach Spain, the pilgrims had to pass through France. Pilgrimage churches, simple sanctuaries, hospitals, bridges, roadside crosses bear witness to the spiritual and physical aspects of the pilgrimages. Spiritual exercise and manifestation of faith, the pilgrimage has also influenced the secular world in playing a decisive role in the birth and circulation of ideas and art.”

The other main routes of the Camino de Santiago, followed by almost half of the pilgrims, are the less crowded Camino Portugués, rolling along the coasts of Portugal and Spain – a month-long, 620-kilometer walk from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela, or the 10-to-12 day, 265-kilometer hike from Porto.

The most popular part of this most popular route is the final 100 kilometers, starting in Sarria and ending in Santiago.

But, as explained by The Telegraph, “you don’t have to walk to Santiago. You don’t have to rough it in hostels. You don’t even have to walk (an e-bike pilgrimage, maybe?). There are as many pilgrimages as there are people.”

Here are other spiritual paths related to the Camino de Santiago but less traveled:

Wool Route, Spain

The 700-kilometer Ruta de la Lana (Wool Route) links Valencia and Alicante with Burgos. It follows the path of the wool, running from the south of the country and dating back to before the Middle Ages, used by sheep-shearers and wool merchants and to take livestock to markets. Still today, they’re taken by shepherds and their often-huge flocks, traveling to milder climates nearer the coasts for winter and to higher mountain pastures in summer.

The route includes many iconic Romanesque churches and beautiful landscapes, including the Rio Dulce natural park, and the canyon of Caracena. Two larger towns, Cuenca and Sigüenza, are worth a rest day, and neither is on the overseas tourists’ map.

Camino Primitivo, Spain

The Camino Primitivo is said to be the original and oldest way to Santiago, tracing the route taken by King Alfonso II in the 9th century. Today, fewer than 5% of pilgrims to Santiago choose the Camino Primitivo. This route is demanding, but its scenery and history make it a unique experience with steep ascents and descents and exceptional mountain views. It begins in Oviedo, taking ancient paths through lush peaks, valleys, and centuries old Spanish villages.

Kerry Camino, Ireland

On their long way to Santiago in the Middle Ages, Irish pilgrims would head to St. James Church in Dingle and from there sail to northern Spain to continue their walk.

Modeled on the Camino de Santiago and linked to sixth-century St Brendan, the Kerry route starts in Tralee and winds down Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, which has some of the most dramatic scenery and coastlines. On the way, hikers pass ancient oratories, beaches, lively pubs, wave-bashed shores and some places to get pilgrim passports stamped.

Via Jacobi (Jakobsweg), Switzerland

Starting in Lake Constance and going to Lake Geneva, this 450-kilometer stretch of the Camino de Santiago has been described as one of the most majestic. The Via Jacobi slides along the foot of the Alpine chain, through historic churches, monasteries and chapels, – including the UNESCO-listed St Gallen — hostels and lake-hugging Interlaken and Lausanne.

Walkers are flanked by the Central Swiss Alps, the Bernese Oberland, the Freiburger Alps and Jorat’s endless forests and can choose between various paths or follow them in succession.

Via Francigena, Emblematic European Pilgrimage

Another emblematic pilgrim route, also spread around different European countries, traces that described by Sigeric, then-Archbishop of Canterbury, on his return from Rome in AD 990.

It focuses on the meanderings of St. Francis of Assisi, born in his namesake town of Assisi in Umbria in 1181, founder of the Franciscan order, and one of the most venerated Italian saints who lived a life of utmost poverty and penance, loved nature, saved animals and was said to perform miracles.

Then there’s the very challenging 1,200-kilometer pilgrimage from the UNESCO-listed Gothic Canterbury Cathedral (where Thomas Becket was killed in 1170) to Santa Maria di Leuca in Puglia, Italy, with crossings through France and Switzerland via breathtaking vineyards, flowing rivers, forests, olive tree-blanketed hills and the snow-covered Alps. Medieval towns, gothic abbeys and castles grace that route.

The most popular sections of the Francigena are the Italian stretches that include gorgeous towns including Monteriggioni, San Gimignano and Siena.

Pilgrim’s Way

An alternative ancient route also related to Thomas Becket and followed by many medieval pilgrims, the Pilgrim’s Way connects Winchester’s massive cathedral to the shrine of the martyred archbishop in Canterbury via the River Itchen, the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs, first following St Swithun’s Way and then the North Downs Way with woods, water meadows and vineyards, priories, burial chambers and medieval inns along the way.

St Olav’s Way, Norway and Sweden

St. Olavsleden (St. Olav’s way) is one of the world’s northernmost pilgrim paths, extending for 564 kilometers from the Baltic Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, through Sweden and Norway and eleven municipalities.

It follows the steps of Olav Haraldsson, the Viking king of Norway from 1015 to 1028, who brought Christianity to the country, and runs from Sundsvall in Sweden to Nidaros Cathedral, his burial place in fjord-side Trondheim, Norway. Pilgrims follow various Ways to reach his tomb.

From verdant forests to majestic fjords, each step is an ode to nature and serenity.

St Olav’s Waterway, Finland

This strand of St Olav’s Waterway takes walkers island hopping from medieval Turku and its cathedral on the Finnish mainland through the Finnish archipelago, one of the most beautiful in the world, via Åland – the islands of peace.

It’s a pilgrimage-cum-ferry hop across some of the Finnish Archipelago’s 20,000 isles, passing charming harbours and churches. From there, committed pilgrims continue into Sweden. Once there, travelers can choose from several alternative routes to reach the final destination of Trondheim in Norway.

Most people set out on an European pilgrimage for spiritual reasons, others find spiritual fulfilment along the way. Undeniably, reaching the final goal is as rewarding as any of the beautiful journeys that lead to them.

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